University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales is a university in Sydney, New South Wales,Australia. It is composed of several campuses; the central campus being located in Kensington just South-East of the Sydney CBD, and also additional campuses and field stations at Randwick, Coogee, Little Bay, Paddington, Dee Why, Cowan and the Fowler's Gap Arid Zone.
UNSW was founded in 1949 as the "New South Wales University of Technology". Initially concentrating on engineering and science, it changed its name to the University of New South Wales in 1958, and adopted a wider offering of studies. The University now has ten Faculties; Arts and Social Sciences, Built Environment, the College of Fine Arts, Commerce and Economics, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Science. Additionally, UNSW also administers the tertiary education component of the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra (Australian Capital Territory) and, in conjunction with the University of Sydney operates a business school, the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM).
UNSW currently has approximately 40,000 students studying in 600 undergraduate and postgraduate academic programs. Over 5,000 full-time staff work in its 76 schools, 69 research centres, 6 institutes, 4 teaching hospitals, 8 residential colleges and many administrative departments.
UNSW is well known for its engagement with primary and secondary education, administering several national and international academic competitions for school age children. These include, among others, the Australian Schools Science Competition and the Australasian Schools Mathematics Assessment, in which many thousands of students in the Australasian area, the Pacific and South Africa participate each year. UNSW, through the Gifted Education Research Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC), also administers the Australian Primary Talent Search (APTS) test to explore and assess the abilities of gifted children.
UNSW is a member of the Group of Eight Australian universities, which includes its cross-town rival, the University of Sydney. In terms of its academic work in teaching and research, UNSW is considered one of the better universities in Australia and in the Asia-Pacific region.
UNSW's former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rory Hume, was recently forced to resign after he recently cleared prominent academic Bruce Hall of allegations of scientific misconduct, and after a series of disputes with the University's governing council. A permanent replacement for Professor Hume has not yet been appointed.
UNSW will set up its first overseas campus in Singapore. Construction of the campus is expected to be completed in 2008. It will be Singapore's first foreign university.
